Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Iranian missile strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan, China’s muted response to Taiwan’s elections, and humanitarian shortfalls in Yemen.
Out for Revenge
Iran on Monday fired several ballistic missiles at what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups,” including alleged Israeli “spy headquarters,” in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan region.
According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the targets were places used to plan the bombings in Kerman, Iran, on Jan. 3 that killed around 95 people attending a ceremony commemorating late military commander Qassem Suleimani. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that bombing. Iranian forces also targeted a base allegedly linked to the Islamic State in Idlib, Syria, IRGC commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Tuesday. As for the strike on what it claimed was a headquarters used by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, the IRGC said it was conducted in response to Israeli “atrocities” targeting Iranian commanders and those of Iranian-allied groups in the region.
“We assure our nation that the Guards’ offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs’ blood,” the IRGC said in a statement.
At least four civilians were killed in the Erbil strike, including multimillionaire businessman Peshraw Dizayi and members of his family, and six others were injured. Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the assault on the sidelines of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Iraqi officials said Iran’s claims were groundless, and Barzani added that the strikes were a “crime against the Kurdish people.” Iraq has since recalled its ambassador from Tehran and summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to Baghdad to express anger over the attack.
“The Revolutionary Guard said that the attack targeted several sites of Iranian opposition groups. Unfortunately, they always use baseless excuses to attack Erbil,” the Kurdish region’s security council said.
The strike, near the U.S. consulate in Kurdistan’s capital, also drew sharp condemnation from Washington and its Western allies. The U.S. State Department condemned “Iran’s reckless missile strikes,” with National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson pledging U.S. support for “the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq.” France called Iran’s assault a “blatant, unacceptable, and concerning violation” of Iraqi security.
Adding to escalating regional tensions, Iranian state media announced that Iranian forces had launched missile and drone strikes against what it said were bases used by the militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan on Tuesday. Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry strongly condemned the attack, saying two children were killed and three others wounded. It has since called Iran’s charge d’affaires to Islamabad.
Jaish al-Adl had previously launched attacks on Iranian forces along the two countries’ shared border. Tehran and Islamabad maintain strained diplomatic ties, making some experts fear that this assault could kick-start a conflict between Iran and a nuclear-armed Pakistan. “It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
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What We’re Following
Muted response. The Chinese Communist Party on Monday published for the first time sections of a 2022 speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping at an internal event, in which he called to “develop and strengthen the patriotic, pro-unification forces in Taiwan, oppose the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence,’ and promote the complete reunification of the motherland.” Other parts of Xi’s 2022 speech had previously been made public.
The newly published remarks came just two days after Taiwanese voters elected pro-independence candidate Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan’s Saturday presidential election. China summoned the Philippines’ ambassador on Tuesday after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulated Lai, accusing Manila of violating the “One China” policy and warning the Philippine leader “not to play with fire.”
Meanwhile, Xi celebrated Nauru’s decision on Monday to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei and officially realign with Beijing. The Pacific island’s switch means that only 12 nations now recognize Taiwan, mostly in Latin America and the Pacific Ocean.
Yemen’s aid crisis. A coalition of 23 aid agencies warned on Tuesday that escalating military operations in Yemen are compromising their ability to deliver critical services. More than 21 million people, or over two-thirds of the nation’s population, are in desperate need of food, water, and medical care in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Houthi attacks against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the international community’s response have worsened the ongoing crisis. The U.S. and U.K. militaries launched a wave of airstrikes against the Houthis last Thursday in retaliation for a spate of shipping attacks; on Monday, the rebel group targeted Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned ship in the Red Sea—marking around 30 attacks on international shipping since mid-November 2023.
Gender-based violence. Transgender activist and politician Samantha Gómez Fonseca was killed in Mexico City on Sunday prior to a march demanding greater acceptance of LGBTQ people, specifically transgender individuals. Around 100 people took to the capital’s main thoroughfare on Monday to protest rising violence against the LGBTQ community. At least three transgender people have been killed in the country since Jan. 1, with another two cases currently being investigated.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a history of making incendiary remarks about transgender people. This month, he referred to a parliamentarian as a “man dressed as a woman,” later issuing an apology for misgendering his colleague. More than 320 transgender and gender-diverse people worldwide were murdered between October 2022 and September 2023, according to the Trans Murder Monitoring project.
Odds and Ends
A Quebec man pleaded guilty on Monday to starting 14 forest fires that forced hundreds of Canadians to evacuate their homes. Brian Paré, 38, had falsely accused the Canadian government on social media of igniting the fires, posting that its actions were a ploy to convince people of climate change. These same posts helped lead authorities to his arrest. Sometimes the culprit really is right under your nose.